A Christian is…

A Christian is not someone who sits in a pew on Sunday claiming to worship Jesus then spending the rest of the week however they want to; a Christian does not point fingers at others, excluding and hating gays, women, those of other or no faith, abortion doctors, liberals, and others who don’t share our viewpoint. A Christian doesn’t have to belong to the Republican Party or be conservative or want lower taxes for the rich and raise the taxes on the middle and lower classes. A Christian does not do violence or wage war or are overly concerned about how others live their lives. A Christian loves the unlovable, forgives the unforgiveable, accepts the unacceptable, and includes the excluded. A Christian always shows the love of God found in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior using words only when necessary.

I don’t always do this, so in some instances, I am not a Christian, other times I am. My hope and prayer is that I can increasingly live Christian. If I could always live as a Christian than I wouldn’t need a Savior, but I stumble, sometimes I fall flat on my face. I do need a Savior.

Christianity is not about a religion or the church, but a person, namely Jesus Christ.

I am not calling those who serve in the military not Christians. Yet, we must look at the biblical evidence when it comes to war. Is war a way a Christian should behave? War is not a good thing. I would challenge anyone, Christian or not who would claim war good. I don’t think God wants us to act in those ways. God is not about violence or forcing his agenda on others; God loves and serves calling his people to do the same. I would not deny anyone’s Christian commitment just because of service in the military. If they enjoy acting in violent ways waging war than how Christian are they. I thank them for their service. I pray for a time when we don’t need to go to war. Sometimes war is necessary. It should always be a last resort. I was happy when I heard we found and dealt with Osama Bin Laden. Yet, I was also sickened when I saw people celebrating Bin Laden’s death. I am happy and thankful that we have men and women willing to protect our nation, yet I must question if all of our recent military actions were necessary. I am not questioning our military men and women who claim Jesus as Lord and savior. I am questioning if war is always necessary and the way we should interact with our international neighbors. I am questioning if violence and aggression is the way we should be living.

I don’t see how killing a doctor who provides abortion can help restrict abortion or some might say protect the unborn. There may be reasons to murder someone. Bonheoffer made a decision to kill Hitler. He died for this. Not once did he waver in his choice. Who knows how many would’ve been saved had he been successful. A classic science-fiction motif has some guy time travel back before an evil guy like Hitler or Bin Laden can do harm to stop them. It is interesting to think about, but I believe Christians should be more about making our little part of this world into the kind of world where killing is not possible and saints are not needed.

We should stand up to evil. Doing more evil to get rid of evil will do nothing but create more evil. That is not the answer. Love is always the answer. That’s what Jesus teaches and that’s what we should live. Rob Bell writes,“It is so toxic when Christians picket and boycott and complain about how bad the world is. This behavior doesn’t help. It makes it worse. Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.”

We need to understand and live more deeply, what Jesus says in Matthew 5: “You have heard, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”